It is the final weekend of racing for SRO America GT America, and the first of two races for the championship this weekend. Single driver, short races. That's the format for this championship just like in the old days of World Challenge competition. The inaugural season of GT America rolls into the final races of it's season. 40 minute sprint races are on tap, today's race coming next, and another tomorrow. The championship points are tight indeed. Jason Bell and Sean Quinlan are on the fron row. Memo Gidley won his first professional race at Sebring last time out, first pro win since 2004. Watch out for Brendon Iribe as well and Inception Racing. That #70 McLaren 720S GT3 will be strong.
This a throwback to the old Pirelli World Challenge/Speedvision World Challenge days. Mixed class racing for short duration. Sean Quinlan leads the points by only 15. The engines have fired on the grid. We have 40 minutes of racing coming up. But Memo Gidley in the #101 TKO Motorsports Bentley Continental GT3 is in strife. Do they have tire trouble? Do they need to pump up the tires? He will be back at the tail end of the field. Brendan Iribe on pole with Charlie Luck on the outside pole. He is a very confident driver. So is Jeff Burton. We will watch Burton in the Lamborghini for Rearden Racing. 18 cars on the grid.
What will 2022 hold in store? There will be a massive grid for GT America next year and that is what we hear. So, Jeff Burton in the #191 Lamborghini, he is down in 20th spot. He is 18 points behind Charlie Luck in the championship standings. 2.59 miles, 14 turns. Everyone in this field wants to win at Indianapolis. We just came off a race at Sebring in Florida. But that one was not for championship points. Brendon Iribe will race in Intercontinental GT Challenge and the Indianapolis 8 Hour on Sunday. Teams see the importance of track time. We have sttagglers for the start but will get a green flag.
Did they wave off the start? We'll see. Luck sweeps past Iribe, but we are going to try this again. That was a disorganized start. It was waved off and we'll try again. These races are short already, so this extra formation lap should give us a 30-35 minute event. Iribe and Luck have gapped everyone else. Pack it up and get ready for a start, boys. Brendon Iribe has run in Europe at Le Mans in the 24 hours and Spa in the 24 hours. Everyone needs to slow up and get put together. Memo Gidley will start at the back of the grid. Green flag, and we have Brendon Iribe leading the motor race. Watch so you don't go too deep into the turn. Christopher Gumprecht and Robb Holland are back there.
Jason Bell has cleared Sean Quinlan as we have the Ginetta of Matt Rivard off the road. This si down Hulman Boulevard as Memo Gidley has cut halfway through the field already and we do have a Full Course Yellow. The Dexter Racing Ginetta was the car to spin and they don't need that. Car #60 is beached. The Ginetta G56 is a brand new car for this team. Ah. He got elbowed out into turn three and will; spin right into the gravel trap, elbowed by Thomas Surgent in the McLaren. The new car is supposed to have more top end speed. It has always been a good handling automobile. But they are a lap down to the field.
Jason Bell qualified alongside title rival Sean Quinlan. The Aston Martin is handling very well. Pressure would get to him late on in the going. But he is getting better as a driver. GMG team boss James Sofronas says Jason Bell has really put in an effort to go for it. Here we go. We are back to green again. 33 minutes on the board. Brendon Iribe and Jason Bell both get good restarts. Memo Gidley has passed Sean Quinlan. He has now gone past all the GT4 cars and has caught up to the GT3 field Burton into the gravel trap. Kepp it moving, mate, and he is back on the road.
Side by side as Gray Newell takes the spot away from Sean Quinlan. Quinlan is losing points to Bell. Wow. Another race tomorrow will tell the whole story. Memo Gidley has caught the GT3 cars. He moves to the inside of Andy Wilzoch as well. Gidley is bringing the thunder with the TKO/Flying Lizard Bentley. Brendon Iribe continues to lead, uncorking a 1:37/6 as fastest lap. Charlie Luck also has his hands full with Kyle Washington. Washington has not won a race in this championship yet. The lone GT2 car in the field is Elias Sabo, with massive horsepower but less downforce. We hope to see more GT2 cars racing in the future.
Sabo passes Gray Newell as well. This is a point and shoot race car is the Audi R8 LMS GT2. We had GT2 Porsche's here last year, but have no GT2 Porsche's this year. Just the Audi. Sabo crashed on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee, but he is back now. Rob Holland has been running a GT4 Ford Mustang this season and will have a new car for 2022. Rob Holland has doen a lot of racing in Europe. He has not done much racing in the United States even though he is an American. S, Sean Quinlan is battling Thomas Surgent right now.
There's a ten point swing in the championship standings. Quinlan is hedging everything right now. He really wants to and has to push if he wants to win the title. Gray Newell is a wee bit quicker than Jason Bell at this time. Quite a bit of time left on the clock as we watch the DXDT Racing Mercedes of C.J. Moses. He is back in GT4 this weekend. He missed some events due to kidney stones. Brendon Iribe though, leads this motor race by 4.1 seconds, uncorking a 1:37.1 fastest lap. Charlie Luck is running 1:37.9, eight tenths away from Brendon Iribe. He is the overall championship leader, ahead of Kyle Washington.
Memo Gidley is matching the pace of Charlie Luck but is not anywhere near Brendon Iribe at this point. That said, he is going to go for it. Gidley had a horrid accident at the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona. But he is back now. Gidley ran in IndyCar for many years. He was on the other side of the open wheel split, and never had the chance to run the Indianapolis 500. So, he is lucky to be able to race Indianapolis on the road course with a sports car. Gidley is given some room by Kyle Washington, for third overall. Gidley is on the podium at this point.
We also watch the brightly colored Zelus Motorsports #88 Lamborghini Huracan GT3. That car has a wicked livery on it. Ollie Milroy will be a co-driver with Brendon Iribe in the 8 Hours on Sunday. Milroy says Iribe is progressing and stepping up. They've raced Le Mans. They've raced GT World Challenge in both America and Europe. They were quickest in Free Practice in Pro-Am for the eight hour race. Matt Rivard has spun the Ginetta again in the wet grass and he has gotten back on track. Brendon Iribe has really been pressing on well in this motor race. Iribe is really learning from his team mate, fast tracking his way to being a top driver.
Jason Bell leads with Gray Newell now second. Sean Quinlan is third. Thomas Surgent in the McLaren is next up followed by Scott Noble. This is the Nolasport Porsche Cayman car #49 in GT4. They were the Am champions and runner up in Pro-Am. Just past the halfway mark in this motor race. We look ahead to tomorrow's finale. Nolasport does very well prepping Porsche's. They've run three, four, five programs on one weekend, sometimes. GMG and James Sofronas does the same thing. The key is having a leader to fulfill customers' needs by sacrificing their own racing careers.
So many great manufacturers in GT4. These are street cars you find on posters that kids and adults alike, dream about. Poor old Memo Gidley is back in strife again. He is running slowly. What could be wrong? The bonnet is not latched properly. Oh dear. Grab the Bear Bond. Gidley and his team will try again tomorrow. Meanwhile, Charlie Luck is working through GT4 traffic. Brendon Iribe still is in the lead. Sean Whalen in the #888 Aston Martin spins out. The Bear Bond comes out and gets the bonnet tightened down. Brendan Iribe's lead is 13 and a half seconds.
He passes by Gray Newell who is chasing Jason Bell. Newell saw the faster car coming and made sure it was a clear path for Iribe. Iribe is learning the car, the track, and the GT4 cars. We will see 13 GT4 cars on Sunday in the 8 Hours. We saw Jordan Pepper get into contact with a GT4 car last year and it ruined their race. The field is massive for the 8 Hours. 28 GT3 cars, 13 GT4 cars, for a total of 41 entries. We will see the winning trio from the 24 Hours of Spa as well. We will see star power in GT4. Connor Daly, Jack Hawksworth, Pippa Mann, and more.
Thomas Surgent has had a quiet season. We are seeing him race here at Indianapolis. C.J. Moses started from the back, and is now eighth. He is the Vice President of Amazon Web Services. He is very enthusiastic about racing. He is eighth overall, seventh in GT3, and just behind the GT2 Audi of Elias Sabo. He raced well here in TCR at Indy, last year. Moses' lap times look really good, the DXDT #58 entry. Charlie Luck moves by Jason Bell, the leader in GT4. Luck is second overall, the former NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) competitor. If things finish up the way it is, Jason Bell, should he win tomorrow, he will be champ.
Bell has the edge over Quinlan by half a second as far as fastest lap of the motor race. Pole and a possible win, will be something Bell might have a chance. Oh dear. Thomas Surgent spins off the road in turn one. He could have a fluid leak. Yes. Game over for Thomas Surgent. The rest of the field will encounter that fluid that was spewing out the back of the McLaren. How much got onto the racing surface? Iribe runs wide in turn five but leads Charlie Luck by 25 seconds. He is going for his third win in five starts in GT America.
Iribe, over the winter, he finished fourth in Asian Le Mans Series and that was how he was invited to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Iribe will race with Intercontinental GT Challenge at their finale at Kyalami in South Africa, a race we could still see happen, in December. Elias Sabo still leads in GT2. This GT2 Audi does not have the downforce or grip to tackle the road course at Indianapolis. This car is a rocket ship with 650 horsepower under the bonnet. He is chasing Jeff Burton in a GT3 Audi. Jeff Burton is not going to get the result to stay with Charlie Luck for the championship.
Three minutes left on the bao0rd as Jason Harward is reeling in Kyle Washington big style. Washington will be on the defensive. Here comes Harward! Washington slams the door, or tires to, as they fight for third, the final step on the podium. Madison Snow is his co-driver, who has experience with Lamborghini's in other GT3 sports car racing championships. This is Jason Harward's first year racing professionally with team boss Ty Isaac. Washington runs a 1:38 dead, but then, backs it down to the 1:40 range. Time running out. We might just have a lap or so to go. Oh wow! Washington tight on the curb has Hardward all over him!
White flag. One lap to go for Brendan Iribe. Andy Lally is a spotter and driver coach for Kyle Washington. Here cmes Harward. They have a lap and a half left. That raffic we see, that's the Zelus Motorsports Aston Martin, a team car to Harward. White flag out this time. Washington has run off road trucks before. Sports cars completely different. So, Harward is closing on Washington and here he comes. Washington is compromised on corner entry. Brendan Iribe wins his third race of the year!
#70 Brendan Iribe Inception Racing McLaren 720S GT3
Harward and Washington continue their fight. Charlie Luck is second, winning Master's. Washington beats Harward to the podium! Wow! Memo Gidley got back out. Jason Bell in GT4 goes flag to flag! Winners, Jason Bell and GMG headed for tomorrow's finale. 1:37.123 is Brendan Iribe's fastest lap as he blitzes the GT America field. Brendan Iribe is happu to race here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Charlie Luck is the Masters' division champion, a man who has been in racing for a long time. GT America champion! Charlie Luck! Congratulations, mate. You've done it! Great effort too, for Wright Motorsports. Jason Bell knows he has to win tomorrow's race to get the championship. Jason Bell and Sean Quinlan are friends, but rivals as well. Tomorrow it shall go to the wire. It is championship pressure for those two blokes. Five points is the margin between the two of them. Robb Holland will be third in points.
Charlie Luck has clinched both the Masters' and the overall GT America championships! James Sofronas, and Brendon Iribe, they didn't run the full season but they are in contiention. What will happen tomorrow? We'll see. If you can get on the victory rostrum, you've done something right. So, as the podium celebrations commence, we will see you tomorrow, here, at the Brickyard, for the second race in GT America. Excited to have another GT America event to see tomorrow. So long for now, everybody, from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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